


If You Should Try To Kiss Her

by femslash



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 05:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2376584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femslash/pseuds/femslash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>uhhh this gonna end up being multiple chapters i think, based on this tumblr text post</p>
<p>killer—ink: I passed a flower shop next to a tattoo shop and at first I laughed because I thought it was ironic and then i freaked because IMAGINE YOUR OTP IN A FLORIST/TATTOO ARTIST AU</p>
<p>so just au fluff i guess</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Open The Door

Jack wasn’t surprised when the deli next to her shop closed. It had been open for less than a year, but she’d heard horror stories about the food from clients. She also wasn’t surprised when, a month later, the “For Lease” one in the window was replaced with one reading SOLD in thick red letters. In the three years since she’d started working at the tattoo parlor, she’d seen four different businesses come and go. Made sense someone else would want to try their luck.

Jack was surprised, however, when white scaffolding was put up, and a sign reading “Lawson Floral” was placed in the window. This street was known for it’s seedy bars, sex shops, crappy restaurants, and, well, tattoo parlors. It smelled like piss and cigarettes, and recently, decaying leaves. Some frilly little flower shop seemed out of place here.

But, two days after the sign went up, the new owner showed up. Based on the sheer number of boxes visible in the cracked open trunk of their little black car, Jack figured they’d rented the apartment about the shop too. And then they stepped out of the car. The cigarette nearly fell from Jack’s mouth.

Out of the car stepped a tall, gorgeous brunette. She was wearing black pumps, black skinny jeans, and a white leather jacket over a white shirt. Jack glanced at her cellphone. She still had 15 minutes left in her lunch break. Might as well go see if her new neighbor needed help.

Stamping her cigarette out under her boot, Jack walked over to the car. “Heya neighbor, need some help?” The woman glanced at her from behind the stack of boxes she was carrying. Grinning slightly, she responded with “Sure” before walking towards the door of her shop. Before Jack could grab a box, the woman called out to her.

“Wait, shit, I forgot that the door is still locked. Would you mind grabbing my keys for me? They should be in my purse.” She gestured at the large black bag slung over her shoulder. Jack nodded, and walked over to her. When she got to her however, she hesitated.

“You, uh, sure you’re okay with me digging through your shit?”

“Please, I’d never keep anything incriminating in there. And I only put the keys in there like an hour ago, so they shouldn’t be too buried.”

Jack hadn’t noticed the accent before. Very classy. She nodded her hand, and reached into the woman’s bag, finding the keys almost immediately. She jangled them victoriously in front of the woman’s face, and then walked over to the door.

“Wait, there’s like ten keys on here, which one’s the right one?”

“The silver one, I think, with the square top.”  
Jack fumbled with the keys for a moment before jamming the silver one with the square top into the hole. Miraculously, it worked, and she held open the door for the woman. The woman walked through the door frame, making carrying three boxes look almost effortless. She put them down in the center of the floor, and turned to face Jack.

“I’m Miranda, by the way. Miranda Lawson.”

“I’m Jack, Jack Nought if you wanna get all formal. What brings you to the neighbourhood?”

“Cheap rent, to be honest.”

“Okay, but like why a fu- why a flower shop?”

Miranda shrugged her shoulders. “It was my sister’s idea to be honest. I have a degree in business, and we always liked gardening together, so I figured why not combine the two, y’know?”

“Cute. Does your sister live around here?”

Miranda went silent for a moment, her grin disappearing off her face. Jack hastily tried to change the subject.

“So, uh, I work next door. And live next door, actually. It’s not totally legal but I mean the basement apartment was already there, and the boss doesn’t mind me using it, and I mean housing bylaws are for pussies anyways so-“

“Oh! So you’re a tattoo artist? I mean, I probably should’ve known based on your rather colourful neck.”

Due to the increasingly chilly weather, Jack was wearing a black sweater under a black leather jacket, hiding the majority of her tattoos. She’d almost forgotten about the ones on her neck.

“Heh, come by the shop sometime, maybe I’ll let you see more of ‘em.”

“I’d like that.”

Jack blushed at Miranda’s response. Technically, she hadn’t been totally serious. She really did just like showing off her tattoos. But she also kind of wanted to bang this girl. And if that response was any indication…

“Do you mind helping me bring in some more boxes?”

Jack checked her cellphone. “Shit, no, my lunch is over in like two minutes. Um, we aren’t too busy today, so lemme check back at the shop, maybe my boss’ll let me help you out for a bit.”

Miranda smiled at her, nodding. Jack headed back to her shop, resisting the urge to turn back and look at her new neighbor. Fuck. Hopefully, Shepard would understand why she definitely needed the rest of the day off.


	2. it's boring how people talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i just like writing cute things about space lesbians okay

Shepard agreed to let Jack take the rest of the night off. “I’m probably gonna close up early anyways,” she had said, hunched over a client, “There’s some lecture at the university Liara wants to go to.” So Jack said her thanks, and went back to Miranda.

It hadn’t taken too long to bring in the rest of her stuff. The sun was just beginning to set when the last box was brought in, placed in the center of the floor with the rest. 

“Okay, so do you have any furniture or are you like a monk or some shit?”

Miranda laughed. “No, no, definitely not. There are some unconstructed shelves in one of the boxes, and the last owners left the counters, and, weirdly, a single chair. I think that was probably a mistake though.”

“Okay but like. A bed. A couch. Appliances. Normal human things. Do you sleep?”

She shrugged. “Admittedly, I do still need to buy a few things. I did order a bed, though; it should be here in a day or two. I’ve got a sleeping bag somewhere, so I will still be able to sleep. And the appliances were already installed, Jack. Do I seem like someone who’d install my own sink?”

Admittedly, Jack assumed Miranda was something of a princess. This wasn’t really a bad thing; it just meant she wasn’t the type of person who’d install her own sink. But she didn’t say this, taking the safer option of just grinning back at Miranda, who then glanced at the pile of boxes.

“Would you mind helping me move some of the boxes upstairs? I’ll order us a pizza if you do.”

“Yeah man, definitely.”

Miranda dug a flyer out of her purse as Jack began to lift a box. Jack glanced up at her.

“Uh, for what it’s worth, I would’ve helped you even if you hadn’t offered pizza. The pizza just sweetens an already pretty sweet deal.”

Miranda, now holding her phone to her ear, waved Jack off. Soon, the two women were sitting cross-legged on Miranda’s floor, a box of cheese pizza and a few bottles of cheap beer placed between them. 

“So, uh, thanks for the pizza.”

“I know it’s not the most glamorous reward, but I figured I owed you something for all your help today.”

Jack snorted, nearly choking on a chunk of crust in the process. “I don’t know princess, I think eating dinner with a hot girl qualifies as a pretty great reward.”

Miranda raised an eyebrow at her. Jack would’ve been fine if she just kept that look on her face for all eternity. “I’m sorry, did you just call me princess?”

“Oh, fuck, I don’t mean it in like a bad way, it’s just” – Jack waved her hands, gesturing towards the other woman with her pizza, - “You’re so, like, fancy.”

“I’m eating cheap pizza on the floor of my unfurnished apartment.”

“Yeah, but you still manage to look classy while doing it. Plus, you look like you don’t let anyone fuck with you, especially when you raise your eyebrow like that.”

Miranda smiled, and Jack swore she inched slightly closer to her. “So if I’m a princess, what could that possibly make you?”

“Dunno. Probably a fucking plague rat or something. Spreading disease and misery where ever I go.”

“Is that so?” Okay, so she had definitely moved closer that time. Jack could smell her perfume – something clean and metallic, mixing with the scent of beer. She nodded at Miranda.

“Well, I think-“ Miranda moved slightly closer, her fingertips brushing against the outside of Jack’s thighs, “You’d be something much better than that, like…” She turned herself so that she was facing Jack. Jack could feel a blush spreading up her tattooed neck. Her heart felt like it was going to come out of her chest.

“…like what?” she whispered.

Miranda leaned forward, their faces now inches apart. “I think you’d be a thief, or an assassin. Someone who the princess definitely shouldn’t kiss.”

Jack opened her mouth, desperately trying to think of something witty or clever and not too stupid to say, when Miranda placed a hand against the back of her neck, and kissed her.


	3. Chapter 3

Down on the street, the dive bars and strip clubs were starting to open their doors to willing patrons. That one cop car started its nightly patrol. Jack, however, was unaware of all of this. All she knew right now was the feel of Miranda’s lips against hers.

They separated a moment later, Miranda’s left hand still placed against the back of Jack’s neck. “That was okay, right?”

Jack nodded, and Miranda leaned into her. This was more than okay. This was great, really. She tried to lean back, but lost her balance, and collapsed onto the hardwood floor. She glanced up at Miranda, who looked somewhere between amused and turned on. 

“Uh, sorry.”

Miranda shook her head, and pinned Jack down underneath her. “Don’t be.”

She leaned in and kissed Jack again, harder this time. She tasted like beer and pizza. Jack raised her hands and ran them down Miranda’s back, pulling her closer. Miranda seemed unwilling to remove her lips from Jack’s for more than a second. Moving her hands to the other woman’s stomach, Jack began unbuttoning Miranda’s blouse. 

Miranda sat up, shrugging her now unbuttoned shirt off. Beneath it, much to Jack’s dismay, she had a white camisole on. Miranda smirked, noticing the disappointed look on Jack’s face. Slowly, she pulled the camisole off, revealing her torso an inch at a time. Jack groaned, saying “Jesus Christ princess, you’re killing me here.” Miranda just laughed in response, before fully pulling off the camisole, revealing a lacy black bra, and what appeared to Jack to be absolutely perfect tits.

Jack placed a hand at the beck of her neck, pulling the older woman down to kiss her. While their mouths were occupied, Jack ran her hands down Miranda’s back, searching for the clasp of her bra. Suddenly, Miranda sat up.

“First of all, it’s a front clasp bra. Second, you still have a shirt on, and that-” she slid her hands underneath Jack’s shirt, “-that is a problem.”

Jack grinned, and awkwardly pulled off her shirt. Undressing while lying on the floor was evidently more difficult than regularly undressing. She considered giving Miranda a taste of her own medicine, and slowly pulling off her own sweater, but decided against it. The look on Miranda’s face made her wish she was already undressed. 

The sweater was quickly abandoned in a black pile on the floor, followed by her black bra. Miranda gasped quietly, tracing the lines of Jack’s tattoos with her manicured fingertips.  
“So are you completely covered?”

Jack smirked, telling Miranda that she’d have to wait and see. Soon, Miranda’s bra was off, followed by their pants. At some point during this process, their positions had switched, and Jack now straddled Miranda, one tattooed thigh placed between Miranda’s perfectly smooth, pale thighs. Miranda, now clad only in a pair of black panties, hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Jack’s grey boxers, pulling them down slightly, as their lips pressed together.

Then, Miranda paused for a moment, pulling away. Her cheeks were flushed, but other than that, she was totally composed. “Would you mind just switching? I’m normally on top.”

Jack shrugged. She’d been a top, she’d been a bottom, and a few times she’d been in the middle. Nothing really stood out, and if a hot girl wanted to top her, well, who was she to say no.

They flipped their positions, and Miranda continued pulling down Jack’s boxers. She was now kissing a line down her torso, loosely following the line of one of the bolder tattoos. When her boxers were completely off and tossed off to the side, Miranda placed a hand on each of Jack’s thighs. Then, she looked up at Jack, smirking.

“So you ARE completely covered.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is basically just a jack chapter, but hey, more mass effect characters are being introduced to the au so. that's exciting.
> 
> sorry that there was so long between updates!!

Jack woke up before Miranda did. Her neighbor had evidently not put up curtains yet, and the morning light gently lit the room. She groped for her jeans, still discarded in a pile beside her, and pulled out her phone. Apparently, it was only 7:24, and she had one unread message. Ignoring the text for now, she glanced at the woman sleeping next to her. Miranda looked like she was fast asleep.

And that was good.

Sure, the fact that she lived next door to Jack meant that there would probably be some awkward moments, some quick glances at each other in the corner grocery store. That was fine. This wasn’t a huge city, and Jack didn’t like going home alone after a night out. She was used to awkward moments and uncomfortable glances.

Jack quietly pulled her jeans on, glancing around the room for her bra and sweater. Once she had them on, she stood up, desperately trying to be quiet. She tiptoed towards the staircase, and with a last glance back at the gorgeous woman curled up on the floor, she went downstairs.

The cold air hit her as soon as she left the building, and she shivered. She glanced at her phone again. It wasn’t even 8 yet. Shepard wouldn’t open the store until at least 10, probably 11 since she’d been out with Liara last night. Obviously, since she lived in the basement, Jack had a key, but it felt wrong to unlock the store before Shepard did.

Bundling her coat around herself, she decided to walk down to the 24-hour diner a few blocks away. The main chef there was kind of a dick, but at least they had cheap coffee. As she walked she thought about Miranda.

It wasn’t like she didn’t like Miranda. She seemed nice and responsible, had amazing tits, and could do things with her tongue that Jack had never imagined possible. It was just. Shit.

Jack had never really been one for relationships. Chock it up to a fucked up childhood, or abandonment issues, or whatever. They were not for her. She’d been on dates, had one night stands, had short relationships, and hell there was that one girl that she’d been with for almost three months a couple of years ago. And it always ended badly.

They’d get too aggressive, or too nosy. They’d decide Jack didn’t talk about herself enough, and talked about everybody else too rudely. They’d get tired of Jack. So in most cases, Jack didn’t give them the chance to get tired off her. She didn’t invite people into her bed, and left her hookups before they woke up. They got laid, she got laid, no emotions were involved, and everyone was happy. It was fine.

The diner was nearly empty when she arrived, with no one except a very tired looking man in a suit, and the dick chef behind the counter. He grinned at her, and said “Good to see you Jack. Isn’t it, ah, a tad too early for whiskey?”

Jack glared at him. “Get me a coffee, Alenko, and one of those fu- one of those little vegan burrito things.”

He nodded, entered something into the register and wandered off to the kitchen. Dick. Just because Shepard had turned him down, like, ten years ago, he was rude to pretty much everyone around her. Apparently, when you’re Kaidan Alenko, classically trained chef turned diner owner, you don’t take no for an answer. Even when “no” comes in the form of “I’m gay”. That being said, Jack hadn’t actually lived in the area when this had happened though. She had learned this from Shepard a few weeks after she had started at the shop, and had come into work with one of his take-out burgers. Since then, she had decided that even though he was a damn good cook, he was a dick. The enemy of her friend was her enemy, or something.

Kaidan returned with her food and coffee a few minutes later. Jack paid hum, grunting a thanks, and sat in her usual spot, a little booth off to the side. It gave her a clear shot of the door, but if she sat close enough to the wall, nobody coming through the door could see her. It meant she could drink her coffee in peace.

As she devoured her burrito, grateful for the fact that she never got bad hangovers, she decided to check her phone. There was still just that one text, that she had ignored this morning. Opening it, she saw it was from Shepard. From 3:57 in the morning.

“heyyy jcak i don’t think i’m gonna open the store tmrw cuz of liara. u will still get $$$ though dnt worry!! night b safe”

Shepard’s drunk texts were always truly a beacon of light and joy. But, they also meant Jack had the shop to herself, and could unlock it (and the promptly relock it once she was inside) with no weird guilt. She put the phone down on the table, and was about to pick up her burrito again, when the door chimed. She glanced up, expecting to see another guy in a suit, or maybe a family of tourists looking to experience some local flavour. 

She quickly shrunk back into her booth, muttering “Oh fuck” under her breath. In through the door, looking kind of ragged but somehow even hotter because of it, was Miranda. Shit. Jack had been expecting awkward run-ins, but she wasn’t expecting them this soon. Not this early in the morning.

You couldn’t see her booth from the entrance, but depending on where you were standing at the counter, you could likely see it. Which meant Miranda would likely see her, sitting in the corner with her coffee and breakfast burrito. She hoped that somehow, miraculously, Miranda would stand in one of the spots where you couldn’t see the booth. But things rarely seemed to go Jack’s way. As Miranda walked towards the counter, Jack placed her head in her hands, and sighed. 

And then she heard her name being said quietly, almost sadly, and the sound of clacking heels coming towards her.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack stared intently at her coffee. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t heard Miranda, or that she’d thought Miranda was talking to a different Jack. That sad man in the other booth could possibly be named Jack.

But then she heard Miranda repeat her name, and looked up to see the woman standing beside her booth. She had a look on her face, one Jack had seen to many times before. It was one of those faint smiles, that said “I might cry and I really don’t want to do that so please don’t be a dick.” Quite frankly, it made Jack want to cry. Miranda rubbed the back of her neck, quietly saying, “I didn’t expect you to be up so early this morning.”

Jack shrunk back into the vinyl of the booth, letting the sound of crinkling plastic fill the silence. She didn’t know what to see. Like “Yeah Miri, you seem actually really cool and stable but I don’t know how to handle emotions so sorry but nice knowing you.” It didn’t seem like the sort of thing that would go over well.

Avoiding looking at the other woman, Jack opened her mouth, saying, “Look, Miranda, I-“ before hearing the sound of clacking heels. She glanced up to see Miranda’s back, as the woman exited the diner. Shit. If it were any other person, this would’ve been a relief to Jack. The other person was gone, and Jack could enjoy what remained of her breakfast in peace, relatively guilt-free. 

But Miranda didn’t feel like any other person. Which is exactly what Jack tried to avoid. Jack glanced at her breakfast. Fuck it. She pushed herself out of the booth, and dashed out the door, grateful for the fact that the diner was virtually empty.

She was also grateful for the fact that Miranda was tall, and wearing a white jacket. Helped her stand out on the streets, and meant Jack could still see her, even though she’d already made it a few blocks away from the diner.

Jack broke into a sprint, which reminded her that she really needed to quit smoking. When she was only about a meter behind Miranda, she called out for her, ignoring the annoyed and confused looks she got from the few other people on the sidewalk. She slowed her steps, almost jogging towards the other woman now. Miranda, however, kept going at exactly the same speed. She had barely even glanced back when Jack had called her name.

Jack finally reached her, and made a move to grab the other woman’s shoulder, before stopping her hand mid-air. She needed those hands, and she’d seen how toned Miranda was. She could probably break Jack’s wrist, and that was something she wanted to avoid. So instead she walked beside her, trying to maintain the exact same pace. Which was difficult, considering Miranda was much taller than her, and that Jack was already winded from sprinting. But she was going to try anyways.

Not looking at Miranda, she talked as they walked. “Look, Miranda, I – fuck it’s cold- I think you seem really great. And I don’t wanna, like, make you cry and shit, because I try not to be an asshole to people who seem cool. And it’s not just because I fucked you, because like trust me, I’ve been an asshole to people I’ve fucked. And I guess I was an asshole to you this morning, and I kinda want to make it better, but I also kinda don’t.”

That stopped Miranda. Jack nearly tripped over the sidewalk when she stopped walking. She stared at Jack, keeping her gaze strong even as a red flush spread across her face. “Why, Jack? Why don’t you want to make it better? Or more specifically why the fuck would you want to make it better?”

Jack started to respond when Miranda cut her off. “If this is the type of person you are, then I’m sorry I slept with you. Is that what you want to hear? That it was a mistake?”

Fuck. This was bad. Jack wasn’t actually sure how she had wanted Miranda to react, but this definitely wasn’t it. She bit at her lip, honestly at a loss for words. Miranda just shook her head, and kept walking. And Jack just stood there, watching her go.

She could feel tears welling in her eyes, and violently wiped at her face. Like hell she was going to cry in public. She considered running after Miranda, but knew it would help anything. Miranda would just keep walking. Not listening to Jack.

Jack bit her lip, tasting faint traces of blood. And coffee. She had a sudden memory of the previous night, of Miranda telling her she tasted dangerous. Jack looked down the street. The other woman had turned a corner, and was now out of sight. 

Jack’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out of her pocket, only to find a new text from Shepard. Like it would be anyone else – she could think of maybe three people in this entire goddamn city with her number. She hadn’t even given it to Miranda – she nearly never gave her number to her hook-ups. Opening it, it read “Mornin’ Jack, please disregard the previous text. IDK what Liara put in this coffee, but I’ll be opening the shop! C U @ 10!”

Well. At least she’d have something else to focus on while she decided what to do about Miranda. How to make it up to her. She seemed to like danger – maybe drawing skulls on burly dudes all day would inspire her. She wiped the remaining traces of tears away from her cheeks, took a deep breath, and began walking back to the shop.

She hoped to God that Miranda wouldn’t be outside her shop.


	6. i let the beast in too soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so, so sorry for how long there was between updates. especially because this isn't a particularly good update. but! hopefully it moves the plot slightly back towards "mass effect au" and not just "florist and tattoo artist fall in love" (even though both are good and obviously part of the plot)

Miranda was not outside her shop when Jack got to work. She was definitely there – Jack could faintly hear music coming from inside. It sounded like Fiona Apple, which was Jack knew meant that she either had to fix things with Miranda soon, or risk losing her forever. Or something like that. Jack wasn’t a fan of that kind of sad girl pop music, but she’d known girls who dated girls who were. She knew that if a girl was listening to sad female vocalists from the 90s, it meant she was very upset. Fuck. Jack sighed, and pushed open the door to the shop.

Shepard looked up from behind the front counter when the door chimed, and grinned when she saw it was Jack. “Well well well, you never came back last night did you? So who’s the lucky lady?” Liara, who was sitting on one of the waiting room couches, reading some tech magazine, added “Of course, if it wasn’t a lady, they were still lucky, Jack.” Jack bit at her lip. She could feel a blush creeping across her cheeks, and the smiles disappeared off of the couple’s faces. 

“Oh, shit, sorry Jack! What’s wrong?” asked Shepard, as Liara put down her magazine. Jack shook her head. She felt like she was going to cry. 

“I’m okay, really, it’s okay. Uh, I did get laid last night, and it was great-“ fuck, she was definitely gonna cry, “-but then this morning, I kinda made a mistake, and now things aren’t so great and yeah.” She forced a smile at the other women, and wiped at her eyes.

“Do you need to take the day off Jack? I know you weren’t expecting to work today anyways.”

“Nah, it’s okay, Shep. It’ll be good for me. Take my mind off of things.” Things like hot women with nice tits who are kind of bossy and apparently like 90s alternative musicians. 

Shepard nodded at her, saying, “Okay, as long as you’re sure.” She started to go back to whatever she was doing behind the counter, before adding “And you know you can always talk to me, okay?”

Jack responded with muttered thanks, and went down to her apartment to get changed. As she dressed, her thoughts kept going to Miranda. She wondered if Miranda felt the need to hand wash the clothes she had worn after sex, if it was a habit she had picked up from a girl she had only been with for a week before deciding that she was too weird, even by her standards. She wondered if Miranda even had a washing machine yet. She discarded the clothing in a pile beside her laundry hamper, telling herself that this would remind her to hand wash them. 

She pulled on a pair of black briefs, and a different pair of black jeans. As she dug through her box of shirts, Jack realized Miranda had been in the same clothes she’d worn last night when she’d come into the diner – which meant she’d probably gone looking for Jack almost immediately after getting up. Or, her immediate reaction to waking up alone was to go buy coffee. She had just found Jack while doing that.

Cursing under her breath, Jack, still topless, slumped to the floor. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this – she needed to get dressed, to get to work, both on her clients for today (it would all be walk-ins but that was better than nothing) and on her plan for Miranda. But for a minute, it felt so good to wallow in self-pity. Jack knew this was her own fault, but it didn’t change miserable she was.

Fucking Miranda. Why should Jack even have to do anything? She shouldn’t care about this woman. Yeah, she was hot, and seemed nice, but there were plenty of other people in this city who fit that bill. And if she just wanted to get laid, there were even more people in this city who fit that bill, so what was she doing moping over this one-

“Jack? I don’t wanna disturb you, but I’m going to be opening up shop in about ten minutes. Also, Liara wants to know if you’d like a doughnut, ‘cause she’s going out to get a snack.”

After shouting, “Yeah, sour cream glaze!” in response, Jack wiped the snot off her face, and pushed herself up off the floor. This was fine, she was fine. She grabbed the first shirt that looked relatively clean, and deemed herself acceptable.

Shepard was still sitting in the receptionist’s chair when Jack entered the room, and she swiveled around to face Jack. Jack raised an eyebrow at her, and asked “Is Sam not in yet or-“

“I told Sam she still had another half hour. I want to talk to you, Jack.”

“I told you boss, I’m fine. When is Liara coming back?”

Shepard shook her head. “Jack, come on. I’ve known you for a few years now, and I know when something’s shook you up. What’s wrong?”

Jack sat down on the couch, and rubbed her eyes. “I told you, I met a girl, I slept with the girl, and then I was dick. It’s not big deal.”

“I’ve seen you after one night stands before. This is different.”

Jack shrugged, and said “I just don’t know what it is about this woman. Like, she’s hot, she’s smart, she has her own business so like clearly she’s actually fucking responsible –“

Shepard suddenly snapped up at that. “Wait, she has her own business? Do you mean the woman next door?”

The younger woman nodded, saying “Yeah, that Miranda chick. I don’t know, I just really like her.”

“…you know who she is, right?”

“Uhhh, our hot new neighbor who I’ve now totally fucked over.”

“She’s Miranda LAWSON. The daughter of Henry Lawson? The businessman who’s obsessed with perfection or whatever? I mean, I don’t know much about him, but Liara’s says he’s not a good guy.”

Jack stared at her. She’d heard of the guy – he owned plastic surgeons or something like that. She’d seen his ugly mug in cheap newspapers. There was no way Miranda was his daughter. She shook her head. “There’s no fucking way.”

“I swear Jack, it’s her. His oldest daughter – Miranda - is supposedly distancing herself from the family, and I mean, I can’t really blame her.”

“But then like…why the fuck doesn’t she have any security? You expect me to believe that the daughter of some millionaire asshole doesn’t have at least one guard?”

Shepard shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, it seems strange to me. But I’m pretty sure it’s her, and I know Liara is too.”

Jack sunk further into the couch, and covered her face with her hands. This was too much.

Shepard walked away from the desk, and sat down next to Jack on the couch, sympathetically rubbing her shoulders.

“Sorry Jack, I thought you knew. I mean, I was just trying to give you girl advice, I didn’t expect….this.”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault… And I’ll still take your girl club advice or whatever if you wanna dish it out.”

Shepard squeezed her shoulder, and grinned at the younger woman. Then, she chuckled, saying “So, you find out the woman you slept with, and who you were apparently a complete ass to, is the daughter of a richer, bigger ass, and you still want to make things right?”

Jack nodded, and grinned back at her boss.

“Atta girl.”


End file.
